


Out of the Question

by FridayMorning



Series: Give Them a Reason [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Developing Friendships, Emotional Constipation, Post-Canon, Self-Esteem Issues, Swearing, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:26:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24681529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FridayMorning/pseuds/FridayMorning
Summary: A few weeks after the end of the war, Catra is still actively avoiding the princesses. Her strategy consists of staying in her room all day, every day, until Adora and Glimmer lose their patience and employ drastic measures to convince her that perhaps her perception of how the others view her is a bit warped.The first in a series of Catra slowly befriending the rest of the princesses.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow & Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra)
Series: Give Them a Reason [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1784470
Comments: 2
Kudos: 226





	Out of the Question

Three weeks had passed since Horde Prime's defeat, and Catra spent most of her time alone in one of the guest rooms of the castle in Brightmoon. The only visitors she allowed were Adora and Glimmer, and the latter was because Catra could not stop her from teleporting in at will. Melog shared the bedroom with her and spent most nights curled up with Catra on the bed, but during the day Catra felt guilty for confining her companion and encouraged Melog to explore without her.

Catra rarely ventured from her room except for when Adora forced her to take a daily walk around the castle. Even those strolls were enough to make stress churn her stomach. Brightmoon was the current base of operations for the princesses as they worked to help Etheria recover from the war and get things under control again. That meant Adora’s plan to return magic to the galaxy was put on hold indefinitely. Catra felt more than ready to leave to explore space with the love of her life. Leaving her room and socializing with the princesses who had been her mortal enemies not long ago, however?

“Out of the question,” Catra said.

Glimmer crossed her arms over her chest. On Horde Prime’s ship Catra had seen up close how much the young ruler of Brightmoon had matured since their first meeting. When she pouted like this, though, all maturity evaporated. Catra had no idea how Adora put up with it. Then again, Adora could be pretty childish herself at times.

“Please, Catra!” Adora pleaded. “Everyone here is so nice. They-”

“Of course they’re nice to you two. You’re heroes, and you’ve all been allies for years.”

“Friends,” Glimmer corrected.

Catra flicked her ear in annoyance. She was still getting accustomed to putting people in categories other than ‘allies’ and ‘enemies’. “Exactly, Sparkles. You’ve all liked each other for ages. It’s different with me.” Catra turned away. “It’s fine. You guys should stop worrying about me, you have all those important political things to deal with. I’m perfectly fine staying here. This bedroom is bigger and comfier than any living quarters I’ve ever seen before.” Although the pastel color scheme and abundance of pillows did not fit her taste, the room fulfilled all her needs and then some.

Glimmer groaned. “I’m tired of this, I’m getting an expert.” Before either Catra or Adora could ask what she meant, Glimmer teleported away. To Catra’s horror, she returned in a puff of pink glitter with Bow. “I present to you, Brightmoon’s very own friendship expert!”

Bow blinked and looked more than a little startled. Based on the battery pack he was clutching, Catra assumed Glimmer had pulled him out of whatever experiment he had been working on at the time with Entrapta.

 _Entrapta._ Catra swallowed at the thought of the princess, then lashed her tail. _Now is not the time._ If she thought of Entrapta, next her mind would jump to Scorpia and all the other princesses who had every right to despise her.

Glimmer kissed her boyfriend’s cheek. “Bow, can you be a dear and help convince Catra that everyone is a lot nicer than she thinks, and that hiding in her room all day is no way to live?”

Bow appeared to short circuit from the kiss for a moment. “Uh, sure?” Catra assumed Glimmer could have asked for anything at that point and received the same answer.

Adora glanced nervously from one person to another. Her gray-blue eyes settled on Catra, and for a moment it seemed as though she was about to intervene on behalf of her girlfriend’s discomfort. Glimmer grabbed her arm.

“You’re the best! Let us know when everything is all sorted out, bye!”

Adora mouthed an apology and the two vanished in a pink poof.

Bow blinked, still processing what had occurred. “Okay then.” He set down the battery pack and ran his fingers through his hair. “Well, hello there. Nice to see you again-”

“You can cut the crap,” Catra said.

Bow flinched.

She shut her eyes tightly. “Sorry. I’m still… whatever. You’re only here because Glimmer brought you. It’s fine. You don’t need to do anything for me, you can get back to whatever you were working on with-” Her throat tightened and did not let her say the name. When she opened her eyes, Bow was studying her in a disgustingly open and friendly way.

“You can join us, if you want,” he offered, gesturing to the door that connected Catra’s room to the rest of the castle. It was about as welcoming as the entrance to a mausoleum. “We’re making some adjustments to Emily so she’s more energy efficient. By now you must know a few things about how the Horde’s robots work, you can help out.”

Catra bit the inside of her cheek. “I think you’ll both be able to do a better job without me.”

Bow flinched again, and Catra tried to figure out how she had been offensive. His honest brown eyes filled with pity. “Catra, you know no one is angry with you anymore-”

She cut him off with a lash of her tail and a look that said ' _are-you-kidding-me?_ '

“Okay.” He began again. “Everyone is _less_ angry with you than they were before. But if you’re so worried about how no one has a reason to like you, why don’t you give them one?”

Catra blinked. She had not thought of it like that before. Her eyes narrowed. “And how am I supposed to do that, genius?”

Bow shrugged. “I can’t give you all the answers, but I can tell you this: if any of the princesses see you trying, they’ll meet you halfway.” At the end of his advice, he stepped forward and set a hand on her shoulder.

Catra tensed, but did not pull away. “How do you know that?”

“Because even though we may look like the best of friends, we’ve all gotten on each other’s nerves before. The reason grudges don’t last long here is because everyone works together to move past them. All it takes is a little effort.” Bow wrinkled his nose. “And maybe a bath, no offense.”

“A what?”

Bow blinked. “A bath. You know, where you get in a big tub of soapy water and clean yourself and stuff. When was the last time you took one?”

Catra assumed that Bow was talking about something that did not involve her using her tongue. “Uh. There was a shower on Horde Prime’s ship?”

Bow removed his hand from her shoulder and wiped it on his pants. “O-kay then. That can be our first priority for you.” He tipped his head to one side. “Although, it does give me an idea.”

He went to open the door. Glimmer and Adora tumbled inside. Adora blushed and could not meet her girlfriend’s eyes. Glimmer showed no such shame. She jumped to her feet and squeezed Bow’s arm. “So? It went well?”

“You should ask Catra.”

Catra bristled as everyone faced her expectantly. Bow gave her a thumbs up and a bright smile. She sighed. “I’ll try to get out of my room a little more, okay?”

Glimmer clapped. Adora ran over and squeezed her in an overexcited hug. " _You will?_ " Catra half-expected her adrenaline to turn her into She-Ra. 

“I will.” To her credit, Catra tried her best to not sound begrudging about it. She patted Adora’s back awkwardly. The idea of seeing the other princesses, let alone interacting with them, still made her intensely uncomfortable. For the first time in weeks Adora looked less worried about her, though, and Catra would do anything to keep it that way. 


End file.
